Ballots to remain uncounted in MI and Stein blocked in Philly. Guest: Election integrity, law expert Paul Lehto says this proves 'only option is to get it right on Election Night'. Also: Trump taps climate denier, fossil-fuel tool for EPA...

[UPDATED TWICE: Good news! Morrissey quickly corrected his report after we notified him of the incorrect coverage. Bad news! His correction was also incorrect. SECOND UPDATE: Morrissey has copped to his second error as well, and has finally corrected appropriately. Details on all, at bottom of this article. -BF]

Once again, the accurate reporting of facts, truth, and reality doesn't seem to be required when it comes to the Rightwing's continuing, years-long attempt to villainize the community organization ACORN for having the temerity to help legally register millions of low- and middle-income voters (who tend to vote Democratic) to legally vote so that they may legally participate in their own democracy.

Today, [Wisconsin’s Attorney General J. B.] Van Hollen announced indictments in five cases — including two felony indictments against ACORN for scheming to have registrants vote multiple times in November 2008.

Unfortunately, Morrissey and Hot Air are patently --- and apparently knowingly --- incorrect.

The "two felony indictments," which Morrissey even links to [PDF] and quotes from in his inaccurate hit piece, are not "against ACORN," but against two workers who defrauded ACORN, even as the pair defrauded the voter registration process...

The indictment linked to by Morrissey even notes that an ACORN supervisor was the first to notice the fraudulent registrations. (The pair allegedly registered each other multiple times, etc., in order to meet what they believed were a minimum number of registrations needed to satisfy a level they claim the group required from workers. The indictment describes no illegal votes that were either cast or counted.)

Charging that the "indictments were against ACORN" is as inaccurate as it would be to claim that Walmart has been charged with two counts of burglary after the company had found that two employees had stolen merchandise off its own shelves.

Morrissey, on the other hand, is just making stuff up to continue the shameless Republican assault on verifiable truth and American democracy in order to meet his partisan agenda. Just as Rightwing propagandists James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles were found by the Brooklyn D.A.'s office to have secretly videotaped ACORN workers there and then "edited the tape to meet their agenda" as part of their now-infamous ACORN "Pimp" Hoax, so has Morrisey 'edited the truth to meet his agenda.'

Morrissey and Hot Air owe their readers, our democracy, their new Salem Communication owners, Michelle Malkin, and the truth, an immediate and transparent correction. Will they show more intellectual honesty than the New York Times, by issuing such a correction? We'll see.

He went on to change his original text, and added the following transparent update at the bottom of the article:

Update IV: Brad from Brad's Blog takes me to task - rightly - for some very sloppy writing in my second paragraph. The indictments were not filed against ACORN, but against two of their employees. That's not the same thing, and I've corrected the paragraph to make it more specific and accurate. I apologize for the confusion that caused anyone.

Unfortunately, the way he corrected his original text is still inaccurate. He now writes [emphasis added]:

Today, Van Hollen announced indictments in five cases - including two felony indictments against two ACORN employees [see update IV below] for scheming to have registrants vote multiple times in November 2008.

As I wrote to Morrissey in reply, I find nothing in the indictment about any scheme to to have registrants "vote multiple times" as he now reports. Unless there is something that I missed, the indictment was about the employees having gotten registrants (mostly each other) to sign multiple registrations. Period. Clearly in an effort to try to keep their jobs (as they believed was necessary).

There is nothing mentioned anywhere in the indictment about registrants voting multiple times, or the accused scheming to see them do so.

Will update further when I next hear back from Morrissey, as I'd hope to soon...

UPDATE 2:15pm PT: Okay, have heard back from Morrissey again. He writes:

Yeah, you're right about that too, will make that reflect registrations, not voting attempts.

After another quick change to the original text, in which he was misleading again (he says he was trying to multitask while on air, and apologized for that version), he finally rewrote the text to adequately reflect the facts of the case, as such:

Today, Van Hollen announced indictments in five cases — including two felony indictments against two ACORN employees [see update IV below] for scheming to have people register multiple times in November 2008.

He also added another update to the the bottom of his story, as follows:

Update V: The crimes related to registrations, not actual voting; I’ve amended that paragraph to show that.

We greatly appreciate Morrissey doing the right thing here, no matter how many hiccups along the way. Wish New York Times, whose most senior editors are still refusing to correct their multiple misreported ACORN "Pimp" Hoax stories, would do the same!

UPDATE 3/10/10 8:10pm PT Ed Brayton of Michigan Messenger is far less charitable, and far more helpful (in describing the details of Morrissey's original distortion) than I, over at ScienceBlogs in "Ed Morrissey Lies About ACORN".

Latest example: Yesterday, Ed Morrissey of Hot Air --- a blog created by Rightwinger Michelle Malkin and recently purchased for an undisclosed sum by the far Rightwing Salem Communication outfit ---

s/b Salem MIScommunication

I said a long time ago, can these misinformers and liars have some kind of charges brought up against them?

David Brock, the reformed conservative noise-maker, on how the Right has sabotaged journalism, democracy, and truth.

As a young journalist in the 1990s, David Brock was a key cog the Republican noise machine. Writing for the American Spectator, a conservative magazine funded by billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, Brock gained fame for his attack pieces on Anita Hill and President Bill Clinton. Then, in 2002, Brock came clean. In his memoir, Blinded by the Right, Brock admitted that his work was based on lies and distortion, and part of a coordinated smear campaign funded by wealthy right wing groups to discredit Clinton and confuse the public.

Since then, Brock has continued to expose the conservative media onslaught. In his newest book, The Republican Noise Machine, Brock documents how right-wing groups pressure the media and spread misinformation to the public. It's easy to see how this is done.

Fringe conspiracies and stories will be kept alive by outlets like Rush Limbaugh, the Washington Times, and the Drudge Report, until they finally break into the mainstream media.

Media groups like Brent Bozell's Media Research Center have spent 30 years convincing the public that the media is, in fact, liberal. As Brock says, it's all a sham: "I have seen, and I know firsthand, indeed from my own pen, how the organized Right has sabotaged not only journalism but also democracy and truth."

I think, DES, there are a good number of bloggers and wing-nut followers who simply do not understand the vital distinctions between "election fraud," "voting fraud" and "registration fraud."

That is understandable given the widespread disinformation campaigns by those that do understand the distinction, but willfully choose to misrepresent "registration fraud" by those who deceive ACORN as "voting fraud" by ACORN.

On the plus side, the risk that people like Patterico run in attacking The BRAD BLOG is that their readers will come over here and start to learn the truth; which, in turn, could hopefully lead to their experiencing an epiphany of sorts.

While it is commendable that Morrissey (not the cool singing one) corrected two blatant errors he made, a third error persists.

Morrissey accepts as fact that the criminal defendant - Maria Miles - committed fraud. Given the ease of proving the allegations against Miles, it would indeed be bizarre if her being a fraud isn't borne out.

Yet, in the same post, he takes quotes from the fraudulent Miles, not verified by anyone else, and accepts them as fact. Morrissey block qoutes a passage in which Agent Thelen recounts statements from Miles alleging a sexual relationship between two ACORN employees (Williams & Robinson) and days in which Robinson then simply hung out but got paid on Williams' okay.

Morrissey transforms Miles' claim from allegation to fact when he says: "Charming. What a splendid work environment! No wonder James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles found ACORN staffers to be so helpful at promoting prostitution rings."

This would be like writing a piece stating as fact that Ben Rothlisberger committed sexual assault on the complainants say so. In fact, what Morrissey does is worse because he admits the person who's allegations he uses to smear ACORN is a fraud whereas we still don't know anything about Big Ben's accuser.

The bigger questions that someone as astute as Morrissey should be asking is why Agent Thelen included these wholly gratuitous allegations in the first place. They are not material to the criminal complaint against either Miles or Clancy. The only reason I can think of is that the allegations were included to create a salaciousness to his report so as to secure the kind of coverage Morrissey then supplies. It betrays a bias by Agent Thelen against ACORN that is unbefitting of a supposedly objective law enforcement officer.

The other question is how much money was spent on this "task force" that then only came up with these five minimal violations which are really gimmees?

Does your insistence on drawing a distinction between two allegedly felonious employees of ACORN & ACORN itself mean that you'll post a retraction of your conjoined accusations of OKeefe & Breitbart, since it's been reported throughout that OKeefe was acting on his own regarding the phone thingy?
Or will the obvious double standard continue to prevail?

And hey, by the way, did OKeefe ever get convicted of tapping phones?
How about bugging offices?

No?

Wow.
Does that mean you'll go through all your posts and change your false claims into something that resembles reality?
You know, will you show as much integrity as the hotair blogger?

I mean, I really hope this hasn't become a "pride" thing for you--has it?
Where you're so emotionally invested and/or are so committed to slandering those who disagree with you that you can't admit when you've made a mistake and simply correct it?
Because I know you'd never want to compromise the integrity of your readers, since they're clearly only interested in truth if they're reading this blog, right?
This blog isn't just about slamming people on the other side as a cheap substitute for therapy and to try to make yourself--I mean themselves--feel better about not being able to control what other people think, say or do in a hailstorm of fervent intolerance, right? It's above such childishness.
It has moral stan... BWAAHhahahaahahaaaa!!!!!!!!
ROFLLLLLLllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Wiping tears)
Oh, goodness, I almost made it all the way through with a straight face.
Sorry

So after your spectacular fail (this item happened, as I noted in the "hat-tip", because of Ravenhairedmaid), you're coming back for another helping?

Okay.

You asked, foolishly once again:

Does your insistence on drawing a distinction between two allegedly felonious employees of ACORN & ACORN itself mean that you'll post a retraction of your conjoined accusations of OKeefe & Breitbart, since it's been reported throughout that OKeefe was acting on his own regarding the phone thingy?

Not sure what you're talking about, Raven. The only such "conjoining" was when Breitbart himself agreed with Hugh Hewitt that "Lots of people work for lots of corporations, and do dumb and sometimes illegal things that are not within the scope of their employment. And this was not within the scope of his employment."

If that's the case, as Breitbart agreed, then why has he held ACORN guilty for what a few employees have done (and been discovered and turned in by ACORN themselves)? It's a pretty good question, dontcha think? If ACORN is guilty, then by Breitbart's own standards, so is he, it would seem.

Or will the obvious double standard continue to prevail?

For Breitbart? Apparently so. We have displayed none here, however. You are free to point out evidence otherwise if you can find any. Good luck with that.

Short of that, this is your first warning about posting knowing disinformation here, which is in violation of our posted rules.

And hey, by the way, did OKeefe ever get convicted of tapping phones?
How about bugging offices?
No?
Wow.
Does that mean you'll go through all your posts and change your false claims into something that resembles reality?

What false claims? Please show evidence of same. Otherwise, this is now your second warning about posting knowing disinformation in violation of our rules.

You know, will you show as much integrity as the hotair blogger?

Happy to. Feel free to let me know where I need to make a similar correction to Morrissey's (the one that made you look like a fool, btw).

I mean, I really hope this hasn't become a "pride" thing for you--has it?

Not for me. Perhaps for you? For me it's a "truth" thing, but that may be beyond your scope.

Where you're so emotionally invested and/or are so committed to slandering those who disagree with you that you can't admit when you've made a mistake and simply correct it?

This is now your THIRD warning about knowing disinformation. You have also just defamed me by claiming I have slandered someone. Do anything like this after this note and you will be on moderation and then banned if it continues.

We have very few rules here, I'm sorry you're showing the proclivity to be unable to respect them.

BTW, as to your next post, concerning "the folks you voted for are considering banning salt in restaurants" ... You do realize that I'm based in California, not in NYC where you are pointing to some politicians doing something or other, right?

If you'd like to continue to post here, even things with which I do not agree, you are welcome to. But only if you respect the rules. Do it. Got it?

Raven Head @ 10 posts an article of an attempt to ban salt in NY. It says in the first sentences: "He is also following in the steps of fellow food nanny Mayor Michael Bloomberg who went so far as to compare salt to carcinogenic asbestos." Ummm...Bloomberg was a REPUBLICAN!

Ms. Raven, as to "the phone thingy", no, the four accused felons have not been sentenced yet. Their lawyers waived pre-trial after the US attorney stepped down(no reason given). His assistant US Attorney Jan Mann is prosecuting now and I don't believe a court date has been set.

Why is RNC big wig Madigan involved in their defense? All four have ties to college level CIA/intelligence programs.

One at least, Stan Dai, is affiliate with FDD(Foundation For Defense of Democracies) some whacked out Israel first bunch with Gingrich, Perle, Krauthammer among its illustrious membership. Dai spent several weeks training in Israel in 2004.

Robert Flanagan(son of prominent LA family, only one from there) and Joseph Basel were the 2 dressed as telephone repairmen. They are all charged with "entering federal property under false pretenses for the purpose of committing a felony".

Penalty: 10 years and $250,000.

Ties to The Leadership Institute include ex congressman Steve Stockman who bought O'Keefe his video equipment. Pelican Institute? Not sure what the hell.

Not too Brightbart went on & on about having JO's "life rights". So, the real question is not did one low level punk work for another low level punk. Where did the orders and dollars originate? What did they really want from Landrieu's(member of Homeland security commitee) communications. This story has daddy-long-legs of the Zionist variety.